By Marin Murray.

The theater department will hold their annual senior directs performances tonight at 7 p.m. in the auditorium.

“It’s really the culmination of their four years or however many years of experience in theater,” theater teacher Kyle Martin said. “Theater is about entertainment, but at the high school level, what I’m really concerned with is developing strong leaders and strong personalities. I think that senior directs are the best way to culminate all of that into one thing that allows them to share their visions with the world.”

This year, there are 15 seniors in the theater production class, however, some have teamed up to direct the shows. There will be 11 shows that range two to 13 minutes in length.

“My favorite part is definitely seeing it come to fruition,” Ben Jeter said. “It’s fun seeing what I planned come to life.”

For each show, the seniors are responsible for casting characters, scripts, blocking, costumes and much more, allowing them to learn all of the challenges of being a real director.

“I’ve learned that it’s definitely not easy to be a director, so I definitely appreciate that,” Jeter said. “I also learned that it can be a lot of fun to help make a vision come to life.”

Other directors, like Madilyn Serda, have faced challenges when it comes to getting all of the details just right in time for the performance night.

“My greatest challenge has been time,” Serda said. “I don’t have time for props, with blocking and then with my cast, who have also been in the JV theater show.”

About half of the seniors, including Jeter and Serda, chose to use existing plays, while the other half created and wrote their own, original shows.

“It should be a lot of fun, and the kids really enjoy having fun with it,” Martin said. “And it’s a little less stressful than other productions because there’s not as much going on with the production side of things.”

Tickets for the show are $5 and can be bought at the door, however, students can get in free with their student ID.

“My favorite part is watching my students take control of the show,” Martin said. “They are the leaders and they are capable. It makes me feel really good about their future and the future as a society.”